How I requested for a helicopter on Uber in Lagos

It is quite amazing how the tech disruption is sweeping the entire world at breakneck speed. If you don’t already know about the Uber app then I’ll have to tell you what it is – It is simply a taxi hailing app. An app that is steady reaping apart the world of commercial taxi operators in Nigeria. Their major selling points of course are Value for Time, Value for Money and Convenience. The apps also offer the convenience of selecting preferred pick-up locations. I have used the UberX a couple of times in Lagos and the experience has been impressive. It feels like your private driver. If you haven’t used the service yet, you should try. If youre in Lagos, you can download the app here and experience for yourself.

I was tuned to CNN when I saw the buzz of how Uber has risen a step above car taxi rivals, at Cannes Film Festival with the introduction of their helicopter hailing service called UberCopter. Uber branched out to helicopters to cater for those hoping to avoid nightmare traffic between the nearest airport in Nice (France) and the Cannes Croisette. The cost for the UberCopter service is 160 euros ($180) for a seven-minute flight, for a maximum of four people. That price includes a chauffeured car ride to the heliport and then another limo waiting at the destination to take the passengers to the centre of Cannes. Uber probably pulled out all the stops to get noticed at the glitzy Cannes Film Festival. Uber leveraged that festival to stand out, way ahead of competition, which I think is very important. Before you continue reading, I have a quick confession – I didn’t really hail an Ubercopter because it isn’t even available in Lagos yet. But If it was, I am sure I could afford it. I only just thought about the possibility of having that service in Lagos and hailing a chopper to fly me to a meeting just to avoid the crazy Lagos traffic. I can already imagine that Nigerian musicians would probably be amongst the first cluster to jump at it and probably tweet a selfie afterwards that says “Touch down Abuja for my show, thanks to Uber for saving me”.

Back to why it’s really important to stand out from competition. You’ve probably heard this before – to rise above the competition you must be recognized as unique. When you differentiate your offering from the other choices, you’ll stand out.

As an organization, ask your customers – what do they like most, what do they appreciate about your organization? Why do they refer or recommend? Often it can be something personal and meaningful. Once you understand that “wow factor!” you can build on it to differentiate your organization from the other choices.

As an individual, a student, an employee, your distinctiveness clearly elevates your visibility. What are you known as? And what hard-to-copy capabilities do you possess that position you distinctively, effectively and continuously? The key is to customize your visibility plan according to your unique skills and passions.

By establishing a strong position against your competition, both as organizations and individuals, every investment will deliver a higher return.

Wow!!! This is so good. Emekatalks getting better and better always. You just shared in your unique style of writing life skills that are of great importance and life transforming when applied. Thanks. Keep moving